


i got a soft spot for your ancient books of horror stories

by cricketofthedead



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of Blood, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, alistair being eager for friends, exactly one (1) swear, marshall being pissed that his hunting was messed up, mentions of animal death, set before da:o, tbh just platonic but marsh romances alistair in his canon so, this is really short im sorry, very dialogue heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28207065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cricketofthedead/pseuds/cricketofthedead
Summary: one nice thing about the forest is how it brings people together.
Relationships: Alistair & Male Surana (Dragon Age), Alistair & Male Warden (Dragon Age), Alistair/Male Surana (Dragon Age), Alistair/Male Warden (Dragon Age)
Kudos: 3





	i got a soft spot for your ancient books of horror stories

**Author's Note:**

> okay so marshall (male surana) is referred to as female throughout most of this story because alistair thinks hes a girl bc of his long hair. also marshall was originally supposed to be keeper but there were too many mages in his clan so he was sent to a different clan, who were wiped out before he managed to find them. thats why hes living in the forest alone rn hsjkdfhs him and alistair are about nine or ten in this and he doesnt get taken to the circle until hes found out when hes thirteen.

Alistair didn't usually wander this far from the barn. While it stank and the animals were rather lonely company, it was home. But the forest not far from the stables seemed to call to him, beckoning him from his chores. Eamon would be pissed, surely, but who said the old man needed to know? Alistair pushed down the thought of potential punishment as he stepped over a particularly large branch. The forest was quiet, save chirping birds and noisy bugs. The sound of a brook rushing also sounded in the distance, and Alistair perked up. Streams meant fish, and fish meant something neat to watch! Alistair picked up the pace slightly, jogging towards the sound of the water. Just as the water came into view, Alistair kicked something. He paused, looking down to his now blood spattered boot. He frowned, turning back around and looking down at a rabbit trap. A crude bear trap with a moderately sized hare trapped inside sat directly behind him. Alistair blinked, leaning down to get a closer look at the hare. The blood was fresh, the animal still warm. Chances were, whoever set the trap wasn't far off. Focused on the small, rusted trap, Alistair didn't notice how silent the forest had gone.

_Snap._

The sound made him jump, whirling around just as something large slammed into his chest. As Alistair's eyes focused, he felt something drip onto his face. A massive wolf was inches from his face. Alistair felt his breath stutter as the wolf snarled in his face, large body pinning him to the forest floor. The wolf opened its jaws, clearly intent on finishing Alistair off. The half-elf boy squeezed his brown eyes shut, waiting for what seemed inevitable. Then...

Nothing. Alistair opened one eye, gazing back up at his attacker. The wolf seemed frozen in place, jaws open and inches away from his face. It didn't even seem to breathe, a dull yellow light emanating off its dirty, white fur. _Magic._ Alistair realized this a second before a large, rock-shaped fist exploded into the wolf's side, launching its now dead body off the boy. Alistair scrambled up, looking around frantically for whatever mage had cast the spell that saved him. Gazing to the side, he was met with rich, honey colored eyes. He gazed over his rescuer, an elf girl around the same age as him. She had dark brown hair, tangled like she hadn't bathed or brushed it in ages. Sharp, pointed ears stuck out from the mess of hair, indicating the girl was elven. In her left hand, pointed directly at him, was a smoking stick. Alistair slowly put his hands up, taking a step towards the elf. The elf flinched back slightly, pointing her stick at him with a frown. Alistair paused, hands still up.

"Um..." he started, searching for the words. Did he thank her? Apologize for needing saving? Ask for her name? As he pondered this, he realized she had spoken to him, eyes sharp.

"Uh, do you... mind repeating that?" he asked sheepishly. She let out a huff, clearly irritated.

"I _said,_ you should run back to your little village, shem. You're messing up my hunting and getting in my way." The elf motioned to the trap, which, between Alistair kicking the hare, and the wolf trampling it, didn't seem like it would be salvageable. Alistair shuffled his feet slightly, mumbling out an apology. The elf let out another irritated sigh, putting her stick back on her back. She seemed more irritated than cautious now. That could work, Alistair could deal with irritated.

"Hey, um!" He spoke suddenly, starting the elf. The girl's frown deepened.

"What, shem?" She snapped.

"Do... do you have a name? I'm Alistair!" He piped up cheerily, trying to ease the tension a bit. If he were more interested in self preservation, he probably would've run by now, but the elf was intriguing. Plus, he didn't have very many friends his own age. Perhaps the elf would be open to playing together sometime. The elf scoffed.

"Of course I have a name. Why would I tell it to _you_ though?" Alistair frowned indignantly.

"Heeeey, what's wrong with me? I told you my name, its only fair you tell me yours!" He knew he was whining, but why was this elf kid so insistent on being rude? Alistair pouted. The elf girl looked at his face with an odd expression, like she was confused by him.

"Why do you care what my name is?" she asked quietly, looking away from him. Alistair cocked his head.

"Why wouldn't I care? Knowing each others' names is the first step to being friends!" The elf looked back at him, shock on her face.

"F-friends?!" The girl's mouth hung agape, and a light pink dusted across her features.

"S-since when are we f-friends?" she stammered, looking down at the ground, a scowl on her features.

"Well, we aren't yet, because you haven't told me your name!" Alistair responded cheerily, giving the girl a bright, toothy grin. The elf was quiet for a second before mumbling out:

"Marshall." Alistair blinked, the gears turning in his head.

"Wait. Marshall isn't a girl's name," he commented, cocking his head at the elf, whose face turned bright red, her(?) frown deepening.

"Well, that would make sense, since I'm not a girl!" He snapped, pointing a glare at the half-elf. Alistair laughed lightly.

"Oh, sorry! It's just the hair and the pretty features and-" Marshall cut him off.

"You.... you think I'm pretty?" The elf seemed incredulous. Alistair blinked.

"Well, yeah! You're real pretty, Marsh!" Marshall seemed too flustered by the compliment to notice the nickname. Alistair grinned, then gasped.

"Oh! I have to get back home! Eamon will be coming to check on me soon!" The sky above them had gotten darker without him noticing. Alistair waved happily to his new friend.

"See you around, Marshall! Let's play together again soon!" With that, Alistair started jogging back the way he came. Marshall felt the tension in his shoulders relax as he watched the other boy skip away. 

"Yeah. Let's play together soon, Alistair," he mumbled, knowing the other boy couldn't hear him anymore. His name felt nice on Marshall's tongue. 


End file.
